Your View of Hell

I took the Life Expectancy test in clash's thread and it got me thinking about hell. Some believe in it. Some don't. I was wondering what the ratio here on PC is, so I'm posting this poll.

My vision of hell is laying awake and aware in that box six feet under, unable to move and alone with your thoughts. This is why I'm being cremated.

What is your vision of hell, if you believe? Does it haunt you the way it haunts me?

If you don't believe in hell, what do you believe?

Post your thoughts on this. Could be a cathartic discussion.

Don't believe. Not even a little bit.

No it doesnt Haunt me at all, for me hell is this life iam living ...
There was so many times i almost die yet i never think that hell even exist

I don't think we'll be aware of our ex-body. If we are aware, I think we'll get what we "want" or think we'll get. I think hell would be getting what we think we'll get/"deserve" instead of what we truly want. If we don't learn to know ourselves and/or are not honest with ourselves, we will continue to struggle with that.

It's interesting that so many, so far, don't believe in hell.

I grew up in the Catholic tradition, so I'm still haunted. It's a hard thing to shake.

Twenty-eight virgins. Would that be hell?

I don't believe in Hell, but your description would be a Hell. I'm ruled by logic and science. Hell makes no sense to me.

I'm an emotional wreck. I want to rule with my head but my heart constantly interferes.

The Church did a real number on me.

For eternity. I remember having that thought, about seventh grade. Extremely depressing.

It's exhausting to deal with. My head is my worst enemy.

I totally get what you are saying and my head is the same way. I have to stay busy and I learned a long time ago that I cannot waste my energy worrying about things that I have zero control over.

Not saying one way or the other, but I think depictions of Hell place way too much emphasis on physical torture. I think for a lot of us, emotional torture is just as bad, if not worse.

Hell to me is a lie, or rather the acceptance of an illusion and a perception of separation from God (or Tao or The Absolute, etc.).

"Hell" manifests here on earth when we feel disconnected from the source (I am not talking about being religious per se here). Hell is when we take beings and mentally force them to be things, when we kill meaning and especially when we do that to ourselves. The hell of separation begins when we forget or deny the truth of every Being in existence and of Being itself. Every atom, every molecule, every cell, every feather, ever laugh, every smile, every tear, every blade of grass, every hair on my head is a part and particle of God and a part of Being, in a way it is Being…

When the truth of Being is denied, when the truth of Love is denied a painful separation starts. That is hell. In the afterlife that can manifest as a literal experience of struggle, pain, torment but those are products of lies, children of illusion. That is why “satan” is called the great deceiver. “Satan” is personification of a real struggle within us of truth and lies, but believing in a lie does not destroy truth, it can only obscure it under layers of filth.

The culture we live in now is (for all it’s fun toys) hellish in that it creats a sense of alienation not only from God, but from everything. Life, nature, other people, ourselves. This is why so many people think we are in the “end times”.

Hell is the waking sleep under which most operate. To wake up, to realize oneself as a being and not as machine is heaven and for most it doesn’t happen within the physical life.

My sister is Buddhist. She seems relatively content. Maybe I should look into that.

If you were raised Catholic, as I was, then yes, there are certain images that are ingrained in the very fibers of your being.
I believe there is life after death. I believe in miracles.
I have a friend, very depressed, who believes in hell, but not heaven...how does that work?
Many lively discussions there as in my mind you can't have one without the other.

Very well put Saintly

It's interesting that so many, so far, DO believe in hell.

I agree that it's interesting that so many still believe but to each his own.
Most North Koreans believe the Kims are deities. That should be a clue about how religion works.
I think my views are on record here but I'll go ahead and say that no, I don't believe in heaven or hell. Other than that one important fact that there is absolutely no evidence for heaven or hell or any deities there is the existence of early man and the other subspecies of homo sapiens who apparently had no religion or deity worship.
One thing that sounds like hell to me would involve being stuck forever with a roomful of people praising and singing the huzzahs of a non-existent deity but I could think of some equally hellish ways to spend eternity.

Pachy et al., what if the virgins turned out to be nuns?

I do believe. I'm not sure what exact form it will take, but it might likely be eternity away from my diety.

i am not sure what i believe, i don't think that once we die that that is it, but heaven and hell I very much doubt as they would surely be massively over crouded by now!
that said if hell were to exhist, it would certainly be a den of frustrated abusers, all trying to abuse eachother on leu of any youngsters to abuse!

Interesting...
Did you see that you had your 666th post in this thread about Hell?
Maybe I had better change my answer

.....

I think there could be a kind of hell. I think that our bodies die but the energy/spirit we have continues to exist. So I believe that if people live their lives "cheating, lieing and taking from others" their spirit will go on with the bad they did forever.
So their soul travels on with a darkness that leaves them only with others that are also dark or possibly alone, cast out from other good spirits, negetive energy in a way, no "freedom" of spirit just dark cold and no material things to covet anymore.

Oh hell is real alright - but I don't see it as a "place" for say, more like a state of being. Basically be your action and disregard of how it effects others, exc. the demonstration has been made that you really do not care to have too much to do with others, and really would much rather be left alone, to do whatever on your own.
Basically by doing all that, and not giving a d*Am about it, and are asking God to leave you alone - so finally he dose, by no long holding back anything, or assisting in any way - you have asked him to go away - so fend for yourself!

It ain't 'th' gods' that fascinate me...it's people...the biggest enigma in bein' people? Our perception...the most important? Our ability to exercise free will.

Or not...it's a big question...or can be easily enough. I'm getting out of th' yard...I ain't got no dog in this one...happy with my perception and choice...